A disgraced cop seizes an unexpected opportunity to redeem his reputation.
Hardboiled narrator Harry Corbin catches the case of a dead Jane Doe found
along the East River by a beat cop. Noting that rigor mortis has not yet set in and that the victim has been gutted, Harry takes some photos and concludes that the woman was killed elsewhere and dumped here. Clyde Kelly, an elderly ex-con with a prosthetic leg whom Harry finds near the scene, nervously protests his innocence while describing a 50ish thug with "eyes like slits." Harry sees an opportunity for much-needed redemption in this crime. He's been a pariah ever since blowing the whistle on a clutch of dirty cops in his department. While trying
to clear Harry's name, his partner Adele Bentibi, who is also his live-in lover, was beaten by a bad cop named Linus Potter, though she managed to put him away. Now working as an investigator for the Queens DA, she's the ideal sidekick for Harry in the case—and he badly needs her help, since he's iced out of murder investigations by the department. Brooklyn's large immigrant community and a charismatic Catholic priest called Father Stan, who feels a duty to protect them, figure prominently in Harry's probe, which proceeds piece by (initially) baffling piece. As the picture becomes clearer, so does the danger to Harry. Knightly's gritty prose is sometimes marred by an awkward formality, but his second Harry Corbin novel (Bodies in Winter, 2009) moves with dark deliberation and feels authentic in every detail.

February 22, 2012

Robert Knightly - Turning A Life Into Crime Fiction

Our guest blogger today is Robert Knightly. Robert is a former police officer with NYPD with over 20 years’ service. He retired from the police force in 1987 with the rank of Lieutenant. He is now a trial lawyer practising in the criminal and family courts. His short stories can be found in Brooklyn Noir, Manhattan Noir, Brooklyn Noir 3, Best American Mystery Stories 2007 and Queens Noir which he also edited. His first novel Bodies in Winter introduced readers to his protagonist Det Harry Corbin...

January 6, 2012

This is the second book of Bob Knightly's I've read, the first being Bodies in Winter. What I liked best about both books is they are more authentic as a police procedural than many I've read. NYPD detective Harry Corbin is a different kind of cop. He's not a super hero nor is he loved by all of his fellow cops. In Bodies in Winter, Corbin exposes a twisted web of corruption among the police ranks and superiors which didn't endear him to anyone. When The Cold Room opens, Corbin is still being shunned by his co-workers and bosses. Even though he's a detective, he hasn't been allowed to work on any homicide cases for a year. When he stumbles upon a dumped and mutilated
female murder victim, he immediately decides to find out who she was and work on solving the case.
Following Corbin as he tries to learn the victim's identity with scant help from his superiors is like going on a ride-along. The big difference is as a reader, we're allowed into Corbin's mind not only as he pieces together the puzzle to find out who the murdered girl is, but who killed her. Along the way, the reader is introduced to a neighborhood priest and a nun, both who play important parts in the investigation though not always in a cooperative manner. The interaction between Corbin and Father Stan is intriguing, both trying to outfox the other. Following Corbin through rich neighborhoods and poor, sitting with him during stake-outs, learning about the exploitation of female illegal immigrants, a horrendously screwed-up family, and how he pieces together what happened to the murder victim and
who did it, has the stamp of true police work. Following clues from one place to another, intensified action, a touch of romance, and a surprising ending, make The Cold Room a most satisfying read. Highly recommended to lovers of mystery and police procedurals.

“Unorthodox,” “unethical,” and “unreliable” are among the kinder epithets bestowed on NYPD cop Harry Corbin by his colleagues, several of whom he has put behind bars following a major corruption scandal involving some of the top cops in the department. Exiled to low-priority cases, Corbin stumbles on the body of a young woman, naked, battered, and gutted. With nothing much on his agenda, Corbin vows to find the girl’s killer and bring him (or her) to justice, despite the fact that the higher-ups don’t want Corbin anywhere near the case. His investigation soon draws him into a complex web involving human trafficking, the Catholic Church, Eastern European immigrants, Chechen rebels, and one of New York’s richest families. Clever plotting, plenty of unexpected twists, high-octane action, taut suspense, and a hero who is as admirable and daring as he is rude and gutsy make this compelling new installment in the Harry Corbin series a must-read.

--BOOKLIST, December 1, 2011PURCHASE AT AMAZON.COM; THE BOOK HOUSE at STUYVESANT MALL; BLACKWOOD & BROUWER BOOKSELLERS, KINDERHOOK

December 27, 2011

I'll be signing 'The Cold Room' and speaking January 7, 2012 , a Saturday at 3:00 p.m., at The Book House, the biggest independent bookstore in the Capital District, at the Stuyvesant Mall in Guilderland.

Tues - February 14 - 12:15 p.m.Guest speaker/reviewer at the Albany Public Library on February 14, 2012 , a Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. I'll be reviewing the new biography, "Clarence Darrow: Attorney for The Damned" by John A. Farrell.

December 25, 2011

Sunday, December 25, 2011

How do you rate such a thing? Is it by the fallible memory of witnesses? After attending the recent Biannual 83rd Precinct Reunion and observing the old cops (my contemporaries) wander around the K of C hall with halting step, I think maybe not. I’m not too sure they all remembered where they were after awhile. But pictures don’t lie, they say.

In 1975, I assumed my alternate identity (although, truth is, it was assigned me). I was new to the Precinct (Brooklyn’s 83rd in Bushwick), having just been booted out of a soft touch as a writer on ‘Spring 3100’, the Police Department’s Magazine. I’d been swept up in ‘Operation All Out’: with the City on the brink of financial default, about 10,000 cops were being laid off and ‘bodies’ were needed to fill in out there. I was one of the bodies.

April 18, 2011

Crime Fiction—from Baldacci to Coben, many popular authors are doing it. But from where does their inspiration come? From true crime investigations that touch us to those that keep us awake at night, these best-selling authors create page-turning fiction sparked by actual events. Join Mystery Writers of Amercia—New York Chapter crime writers Andrew Gross, Robert Knightly, MJ Rose, Sharon Linnea and Jessica Speart to get the back story on the true-life crime scenes that paid off.

Moderator
Robert Knightly a former president of the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, is a retired NYPD Lieutenant and veteran defense lawyer. His short stories appeared in the crime anthologies Brooklyn Noir and Manhattan Noir and he was also the editor of Queens Noir. His debut novel, Bodies in Winter was published in 2009. The Cold Room is due May 2011. Crimewriters.blogspot.com/

Panelists
Sharon Linnea spent happy years as an award-winning biographer, journalist and playwright; then one day, something snapped, and the bodies started piling up. The Eden Thrillers, Chasing Eden, Beyond Eden, and Treasure Of Eden were published by St. Martins, with new editions out in 2011. These Violent Delights, the first of her Movie Mysteries series, will be published by Arundel Publishing this spring. www.SharonLinnea.com

Andrew Gross is the author of New York Times and international bestsellers The Blue Zone, Don’t Look Twice, Reckless, and The Dark Tide, which was nominated for the Best Thriller of the Year award by the International Thriller Writers. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. You can follow Andrew Gross on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and at www.AndrewGrossBooks.com

M.J. Rose is the international bestselling author of 11 novels including The Reincarnationist which was the inspiration for the 2009 FOXTV show Past Life. Rose is also the co-author of Buzz your Book, a founding member and board member of ITW and the founder of the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com as well as the co-founder of Peroozal.com. www.mjrose.com

Jessica Speart is an investigative journalist whose focus is on wildlife law enforcement and endangered species. Winged Obsession, her first narrative nonfiction book, which is about the world’s most notorious butterfly smuggler launches in April. Jessica also penned a ten-book mystery series featuring U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Rachel Porter. The series was created after years of investigating wildlife and drug-trafficking crimes for publications such as The New York Times Magazine and National Wildlife. www.jessicaspeart.com

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Robert Knightly is a retired NYPD Lieutenant and a criminal trials lawyer in the Criminal Defense Division of the NYC Legal Aid Society. He was the past President of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is the past President of Sisters in Crime, Upstate New York Chapter. Born and raised in New York City, he currently lives in Albany, NY, where he practices law.